To pay for a new industry-wide marketing program for fresh-cut Christmas trees, the Department of Agriculture is proposing a 15-cent tax on every tree paid by bulk growers and importers.The proposed rule, first reported by The Hill, was reported in the Federal Register on Tuesday and would create a Christmas Tree Promotion Board to combat the use of artificial trees in living rooms around the country.

The tax was requested by the Christmas Tree Checkoff Task Force, an industry group, worried by declining market-share for fresh-cut trees.

Per the rule:

According to additional data supplied by the Task Force, the market share of fresh Christmas trees in the U.S. from 1965 to 2008 has declined by 6 per cent. In comparison, the market share of artificial trees has increased 655 per cent from 1965 to 2008.